Horrible Sunday Brunch

Was expecting nice French bistro experience. Unfortunately, was majorly dissapointed. Chef was rude and food was terrible. Had to send it back. Left hungry but still paid $20 for tea and toast. Places like this should not exist in NY city where food standards are quite high.

Did you find this review helpful?YesNoRequest Removal
50 out of 98 people found this review helpful.

Traumatized to say the least....

Traumatized: past participle, past tense of trauÂ·maÂ·tize (Verb)
Verb:
Subject to lasting shock as a result of an emotionally disturbing experience or physical injury
Words cannot explain how frightening and uncomfortable this brunch experience was. It was my boyfriend's Birthday weekend and we walked by and were drawn into this intriguing and unique Parisian cafe. The music was nice, the chef looked quirky and fun and we were excited about this cafe find!.....UNTIL no one was in the restaurant....the chef told us to go upstairs - he gave us a tropical juice that was every fruit and berry found on earth blended with the rinds and poured into a chunky mess in my glass. The french toast was hard as a rock, the omelette was a clusterF** of vegetables (some I've never seen and I LOVE vegetables) they were stinky and mushy and I started thinking...is this really a vegetable?! By the time we picked through the omelette I handed my BF my credit card and ran out - the bill was INSANE! $60?? and not even a bloody mary? I was sick the entire day and get chills when I think about the creepiness of this place.....oh....and I forgot to mention the best part....his door to HIS BEDROOM WAS RIGHT BEHIND OUR TABLE!!! ahhhhhhhh!!!

Did you find this review helpful?YesNoRequest Removal
62 out of 128 people found this review helpful.

Worse than terrible.

We came here for what was thought to be a relaxing brunch. Chez Le Chef - I mean after all, who could say no to such an inviting name. We were wrong. From the minute we stepped into the restaurant, we should have known better. There were no customers.
The shop was a one-person business. The chef told us our table number (he didn't bother walking us upstairs), took our order and cooked. The placed looked like it was a storage for all the stuff they have received/bought over the years. Christmas, Valentine's, you name it. All dusty and old.
The food was the worst part of the experience. We ordered different kinds of omelets, but when the orders came out, they all looked the same - a burnt mount of unrecognizable ingredients. It looked like he had put everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, but the kitchen sink into our omelet. Baby carrots (whole!), shredded carrots, wilted pepper pieces, brown pieces of vegetables, etc. The dish had a funky smell to it, too. We really couldn't handle more than 3 bites.... The $4.25 bacon side had 5 pieces on it, stale and unrecognizable. We're actually glad there wasn't more of it....
The food was waaaaay overpriced, especially given the poor quality. And yes, a 15% tip was automatically added to the total. So after paying an absurd amount of money for our 3 bites, we ended up walking around the corner to get a bagel with cream cheese and lox at The Bagelry.

Did you find this review helpful?YesNoRequest Removal
55 out of 105 people found this review helpful.

AMAZING BRUNCH!

Ordered a simple french toast and ham & cheese croissant. Did NOT expect the amazingness this man pulled together. The french toast is the most moist delicious I have ever had (sprinkled with cinnamon sugar & bananas) SO GOOD. His croissant was perfectly flaky & don't even get me started on the egg, cheese, ham scramble in it. AMAZING AMAZING. Definitely an all time NY fave!

Did you find this review helpful?YesNoRequest Removal
62 out of 135 people found this review helpful.

One Step In and YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR (this is a warning!)

We stumbled upon this restaurant when the brunch place we wanted to go to was overbooked for a hour. Little did we realize we were walking into a place where the food was the worst we've EVER HAD. The chef covers ALL his egg offerings with loads of dried, stale herbs, making it impossible to eat. The "famous french toast" was cold and tasted like soggy tofu. We are not fussy eaters but this place, it was unbearable. It is no surprise that the gratuity is included because given the low quality of the food chances are minimal if any tips would be given. When we received the bill, we were astonished how expensive our horrible meal was. We have never felt the need to write a review about a restaurant but this place needs to be shut down. We hope you will not make the same mistake we did.

Did you find this review helpful?YesNoRequest Removal
56 out of 111 people found this review helpful.

Horrible

My husband and I stopped in, thinking the food might be as fun as the kitschy decor. It was horrendous. Our waiter didn't speak English, so the chef took our order. We waited forever. My tomato-fennel soup was so over-seasoned and had so many fibrous bits in it that I could only eat half, despite being ravenous by the time it was served. My husband's omelet did not have the advertised sausage in it, but it did have a hair in it. (When we told the chef about the hair, he said that he didn't believe us!) My chef's salad was peppered with brown bits of -- celery? At the end of the meal, our bill came to almost seventy dollars for an omelet, soup, a salad, and a coffee; they wanted to charge us 15% for the nonexistent service and for refilling my husband's coffee. I've never written a restaurant review before, but our awful experience inspired me. We will never go back, and we urge you to avoid the place altogether.

Did you find this review helpful?YesNoRequest Removal
57 out of 148 people found this review helpful.

worst delivery experience in nyc

Ordered two omelettes and two OJ's and somehow it took the delivery boy over an hour to travel 7 streets. Once he finally arrived, he presented a bill for 60 dollars! I wouldn't mind forking up the cash for quality, and unless I'm missing something here, and Chez le Chef directly sources their ingredients from Paris, no breakfast delivery that takes over an hour is worth this price. When I called the owner to review the receipt, I was met with such a foul attitude, that I was prompted to send the order back, admittedly my first time ever having to do so. With so many other options in the area, I'll take great delight in never ordering from here again.

Did you find this review helpful?YesNoRequest Removal
70 out of 137 people found this review helpful.

Quick, someone get Gordon Ramsey in there!

Chez Le Chef is supposed to be closing in March 2009. This ends an era of half-hearted attempts at making meals for unsuspecting customers that were drawn in by eccentric exterior decor, and later repulsed by dirty, cluttered interior decor.
Chef Frederic is heralded in numerous articles on the walls for being brilliant, but one notices that the reviews are all decades old. It's as if he burned out years ago and kept on working regardless.
The chef feigns flightiness, claiming to have made "mistakes" on bills where people do catch him charging incorrect prices, or putting in the wrong amount for credit card purchases.
Herb de Provence was never so overused as it was at Chez Le Chef. Virtually all items are dusted in it, and often food is somewhat burned and usually dry.
Regrettably, the "Kitchen Nightmares" program on Fox doesn't take suggestions from viewers, else Chez Le Chef might make for the ultimate episode.
Farewell, Chef Frederic - many wishes of success writing cookbooks that might reflect your talents far more than the food you've been preparing for a long time now.

Did you find this review helpful?YesNoRequest Removal
98 out of 181 people found this review helpful.

DO NOT GO!

It seems interestingly inviting on the outside with the eclectic decor, but it is not worth entering inside. I dined with 2 friends and ate terrible food, was over charged for items that were supposed to be included (such as stale croissant and watery juice) but were not, and could not even finish my undercooked eggs. A nice 20% tip was also included, but not noted beforehand. Wait in line down the street at Penelope, don't go here!!

Did you find this review helpful?YesNoRequest Removal
104 out of 208 people found this review helpful.

If Mrs. Havisham Had a Restaurant

It would look like this. Nothing has been touched since 1988 (consequently the same year they won "Best French Toast,") including a four-tier cake upstairs, and quite possibly the pastries in the front display window. The chef/waiter is akin to the Soup Nazi, with scant patience for those of us who take more than a few minutes to peruse the sprawling, and somewhat incoherent menu. I will step out on a limb to say that most New Yorkers do not appreciate loud, doom-and-gloom accordion music with their eggs, but some people like the ambiance of post-Communist Russia on Sunday mornings. In addition, when a vegetarian in our party inquired about the ingredients in a sauce, the waiter (busboy?) simply shrugged. All in all, one of the most bizarre, uncomfortable and prickly brunch experience I've ever had.

Did you find this review helpful?YesNoRequest Removal
107 out of 187 people found this review helpful.